6 coal mines auctioned in 7th tranche; NLC, NTPC win

07 Aug 2023 CW Team

In the seventh round of auctions, coal blocks were secured by state-owned NLC India and NTPC, along with three private companies. All six mines put up for auction were successfully sold.

The Ministry of Coal conveyed that NLC obtained the North Dhadu (Western Part) coal block situated in Jharkhand, possessing coal reserves of 434 million tonnes. Meanwhile, NTPC emerged as the winner for the North Dhadu (Eastern Part) coal block, which holds 439 million tonnes of coal reserves.

Private enterprises also participated, with Hindalco Industries acquiring the Meenakshi West block in Odisha, boasting 950 million tonnes of coal reserves. Bajrang Power and Ispat secured the Pathora East and Pathora West coal blocks located in Madhya Pradesh, containing 110.40 million tonnes and 81.69 million tonnes of coal reserves, respectively.

In Chhattisgarh, Nilkanth Coal Mining successfully bid for the Sherband coal block, which has a coal reserve of 90 million tonnes.

The Ministry stated, "With the completion of the auction for these six coal mines, the total count of coal mines auctioned through commercial auctions has now reached 92."

The projected yearly revenue from these mines is estimated to be roughly Rs 341.85 billion (excluding partially explored coal mines), calculated based on the current Peak Rated Capacity (PRC) of the coal mines.

It is anticipated that the operationalisation of these coal mines will result in a capital investment of about Rs 344.86 billion and will create employment opportunities for approximately 3 lakh individuals.

Out of the mines auctioned, two have been fully explored, while the remaining four have only been partially explored.

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